About This Treatment
Menu: Full Design Custom. Nail artist: Mami. The guest was visiting from the United States and came to our Harajuku studio with bare natural nails, so the session started with prep rather than removal, and the art was applied directly to her own nail length.
Design Points
The set began with a base shade agreed on at the start of the appointment, referencing an image the guest had saved. Once that base was fixed, the rest of the artwork was built on top of it by hand, nail by nail, so the ten fingers read as one set rather than ten repeats of the same motif. Working on bare nails also meant the surface could be shaped and buffed from scratch, which keeps the base layer thin and the color sitting flat and even under the top coat.
Her Visit
She arrived with an inspiration photo on her phone, and we used it as the reference point for the color decision. After that, she handed the design over to Mami and asked her to take it wherever she wanted — no further conditions. That kind of brief is a lot of freedom, and it also means the reveal at the end matters. She looked genuinely pleased when she saw the finished hands, which is the best possible answer to an “up to you” request.
Care and Styling Notes
Full Design Custom is our most open menu: you bring a reference, a color, a mood, or nothing at all, and the design is drawn for you on the day rather than picked off a sample sheet. A gel set like this generally holds its finish for around three to four weeks, depending on how fast your nails grow and how much you use your hands.
A few things that help it last:
- Wear gloves for dishwashing and cleaning; repeated hot water and detergent are what usually lift the edges first.
- Use cuticle oil once or twice a day. Hydrated skin around the nail keeps the sidewalls looking clean.
- Don’t use your nails as tools — box openers, can tabs, and suitcase zippers are the usual culprits on a trip.
- If a corner does lift, leave it alone and have it removed properly rather than peeling it off, which takes surface layers of the natural nail with it.
This menu suits anyone who wants a set that isn’t repeatable, and it works well for travelers: the nails are done on natural length, so they stay easy to live with while you’re packing, flying, and walking around Tokyo.
From Mami
Being asked to take over a design after the base color is set is a different kind of job from following a full reference image. I look at what the photo is actually doing — the weight of the color, how much space is left empty — and then decide the balance across the hand myself, rather than copying it line for line. On natural nails I keep the layers thin so the finish doesn’t feel bulky. That’s the part I paid the most attention to here.
Book Your Visit to lull.
Reservations can be made anytime at online.— our Harajuku studio is English-speaking and used to guests visiting Japan, so feel free to come with a photo, an idea, or nothing decided at all. You can see our latest finished sets on Instagram (@nail_lull.tokyo) and TikTok (@nail_lull.tokyo).
